Remember when The Sopranos got everyone in an uproar because of the way the show depicted Italian-Americans and New Jersey? Who would have thought we would look back on that show, longingly?

It might not have been Shakespeare by a long shot, but it had great writing and great acting, even with that strange final episode. The Jersey Shore cast of talentless clowns? We wish we they would all check into a witness protection program, or at least take a vow of omerta.

Here's the key difference: The Sopranos were fictional; the Jersey Shore purportedly depicts reality. Say what you want about the Soprano's dramatization of the mob, but selling the idea that Italian Americans, and Jersey shore-goers more generally, are vain, drunk party-goers with few manners or morals is no help at all.

“According to writer and executive producer Terence Winter, who went on to create Boardwalk Empire, even real mobsters loved the show. 'One F.B.I. agent told us early on that on Monday morning they would get to the F.B.I. office and all the agents would talk about The Sopranos,' he recalls. 'Then they would listen to the wiretaps from that weekend, and it was all Mob guys talking about The Sopranos, having the same conversation about the show, but always from the flip side. We would hear back that real wiseguys used to think that we had somebody on the inside. They couldn’t believe how accurate the show was.'”